Shulou(Shulou.com)11/24 Report--

CTOnews.com, June 16 (Reuters)-Stellantis, the world's third-largest carmaker, will launch its first European-made economical electric vehicle, the new Citroen e-C3, in mid-October to cope with fierce competition from Chinese manufacturers.

Electric cars are generally more expensive than fuel cars, so European carmakers plan to launch cheaper models, encouraged by government subsidies. France, for example, plans to subsidize electric cars made in Europe because they have a lower carbon footprint than imported models. France also plans to implement a social rental scheme to provide electric cars to low-income families at a price of about 100 euros a month (CTOnews.com Note: currently about 777 yuan).

France's electric vehicle subsidy program, which will be announced in October, will apply to new cars delivered from 2024, according to sources.

Currently, the most affordable electric models in the French market are the Chinese-made Renault Dacia Spring and Renault Twingo, which are priced at 21000 euros (currently about 163000 yuan) and 25000 euros (currently about 194000 yuan), respectively, but the latter will be discontinued in mid-2024.

Citroen CEO Thierry Koskas (Thierry Koskas) told the media that the new e-C3 will be bigger than the two models and will sell for less than 25000 euros. "there are no similar products on the market, and this car may also be a good choice to respond to the government's rental plan," he said. "

Koskas also claimed that the car, based on the smart car architecture launched by Stellantis in India and Latin America, will be assembled in Slovakia and will be launched in early 2024.

E-C3 's batteries, which have a range of up to 300km, are likely to be made in China, according to people familiar with the matter. Since batteries account for a large part of the value of electric vehicles, Stellantis hopes the car will still be eligible for subsidies from the French government. The company declined to comment.

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